1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of books, and more particularly to the field of large-scale books.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention relates to books and to methods and systems for binding books. In embodiments, the books may be large-scale books. Traditionally, books are designed to be portable, easily shared and conveniently accumulated on conventional bookshelves. As such, the dimensions of books have been relatively small, conventionally being less than twenty inches in height and less than one foot in width. The dimensions of the book in turn limit the amount of information contained in a book, whether visual or textual. In particular the amount of detail that can be provided in graphical depictions, such as photographs, diagrams, charts, maps and the like, is limited by the size of images that can be displayed on a page. Various techniques, such as fold-out pages, centerfold pages, and multi-page graphical depictions have been developed to allow larger graphical formats in small-scale books; however, even those techniques are inherently limited by the size of the book and may present complexities or incremental costs in constructing the book.
While bookbinding methods and systems have remained relatively stable over the past half-century, other related publishing fields have undergone dramatic changes. For example, the development of large-format computer printers, such as inkjet and laser jet printers, as well as the development of large-format printer papers, have enabled the rapid, inexpensive production of very-large, high-quality printed photographs and other graphics.
Accordingly, a need exists for techniques for developing large-scale books that can accommodate large-format graphical depictions such as those produced by large-format printers.